FlatIron Crossing gets Old Navy; Crossroads seeks ‘local’ tenants

BROOMFIELD — With the shell of FlatIron Crossing 60 percent complete – the mall is expected to open in August – Westcor announced at a November media tour of the site that it has signed letters of intent with Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, which would be the first in-mall Old Navy in the metro area.

Officials from competitor The Macerich Co., owner of Boulder Crossroads shopping mall, at one time also were hoping to secure a deal with Old Navy for the redevelopment of the Boulder mall.

But Macerich President and Chief Executive Officer Art Coppola said Macerich and Old Navy “mutually agreed” not to pursue negotiations toward a Crossroads location. He added that Westcor has huge dollars with which to lure national tenants because of what he characterized as a “$100 million tax subsidy” from the city of Broomfield.

“We would have been glad to have (Old Navy), but it was a mutual decision,” he said, adding that the decision allows more square footage to be devoted to the regional and local tenants that are “the key to Crossroads now.”

He said he would like to see Macerich’s own “urban village” 100 percent occupied by businesses that are locally owned.

“We’re actually going to give incentives to local and regional tenants,” Coppola said. “We don’t want to and we’re not going to try to compete with (Westcor) for the national tenants. They’re going to end up with those in Broomfield. They’ve already got them.”

Retail analyst Jenkins noted that Macerich’s redevelopment plans, especially the first round that was abandoned by the company, banks on “a very similar thought process” as FlatIron Crossing with regards to the outdoor village concept.

With a mixed-use element – such as office space and housing – added in subsequent phases of the redevelopment, Crossroads will be more truly an urban village, Coppola said.

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